Focussing on less means we can achieve more
OneKind is a relatively small organisation and has to prioritise its focus of work with a view to effecting the most change it can for the benefit of animals. Or to put it in other words we don’t want to spread ourselves so thin that nothing is achieved. The priority areas of campaigning and policy work that OneKind will focus on over the next year are
- Welfare for Wild animals with a strong focus on snares and traps
- Welfare of animals in the pet trade, which includes pet shops, internet trading and puppy farms
- Experiments and procedures on animals related to lifestyles i.e. Household products and cosmetics
Welfare in the Wild
The principal aims of the welfare in the wild campaign are;
- To increase public awareness of wild animal welfare and the suffering undergone due to persecution by humans;
- To change the perception that because some animals pose a threat to human economic interests or are associated with risks to health, their welfare is unimportant;
- To gather support for making the law more equitable between animals in the wild and animals under the control of man;
- To reduce the persecution and unnecessary suffering of sentient wild animals in Britain by reducing the acceptability and use of traps
- To move towards a complete ban on the use of snares in Scotland and England;
Welfare in the pet trade
The aim of the pet vending campaign is to improve welfare of animals kept as pets in Scotland and England by;
- educating people to seek more information about the origins of the pets they buy and achieving review of the Pet Animals Act 1951 and breeding legislation with new regulations under Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and Animal Welfare Act 2006,
- to include more aspects of trade e.g. suppliers, internet;
Ending experiments on animals for ‘lifestyle’ products
The aim of the End Animal Experiments campaign is to improve the welfare of animals used in animal experimentation by radically reducing the use, or eliminating the use altogether, of animals in experiments for ingredients in Household Products (HHPs) or finished HHPs. The principal aims we seek are:
- We aim to educate, inform and change consumer behaviour by highlighting procedures commonly used on ingredients in household products.
- As part of this campaign we also aim to Hold the UK government to account on its manifesto commitment to ban household product testing and press for ingredients to be included in the ban, not just finished products.
- Have the UK Government repeal Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which exempts most experiments-related information from the Freedom of Information Act 2000
The strategic choices provide a concentrated focus to our work however when other issues emerge where we can add our experience and expertise, we will do so. For example we have campaigned in the past for a ban on animals in circuses so when a circus with animals came to Edinburgh we went along to share information to educate visitors to the circus.
We recognise that there are many charities doing similar work in all aspects of animal welfare. So underpinning all our campaign work is a belief that partnership and collaboration can be a good thing. That is when it avoids unnecessary duplication, or creates more momentum or a stronger voice, we will partner with appropriate like-minded organisations. For example OneKind supports the Better Dairy campaign organised by Compassion in World Farming, World Society for the Protection of Animals and Ben and Jerry’s, aimed at achieving a much-needed EU directive on dairy cow welfare.
In our strategic focus and the way organise and collaborate we never lose sight of why we are here and why OneKind exists. We are here to improve the lives of animals and prevent unnecessary cruelty and suffering.